OP  Senior Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Oct 2007 Posts: 104 | My husband is 8 months post treatment for oral cancer which was treated with surgery, chemo and radiation. He was able to swallow liquids approximately 5 weeks post treatment and was not able to progress to more solid foods. In Aug. following a bad throat infection his swallowing abilities gradually decreased to the point he can now not swallow anything without choaking. He has had a swallowing assessment which identifies 2 problems. One of the problems is the hardening of the swallowing muscles from the radiation. I am wondering if there is anyone on this forum that has used VitalStim therapy for this problem. If so how effective was it in improving swallowing ability?
Caregiver to husband Dx. Stage 4 SCC of gingiva with 3 nodes pos. Partial mandiblectomy with bone graft from iliac crest Dec. 2006. IMRT x30, Cisplatin x3. Completed Tx. March 15, 2007. Osteonecrosis & removal of graft & plate Oct. 2007. Recurrence of SCC Dec. 2007. Deceased Jan. 17, 2008.
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